Fired for Now: Getting fired, laid off, and hired again

Yesterday I invited readers to share the sacrifices they’ve made following job loss. What they’ve had to give up in the face of some harsh economic truths. Certainly, 2009 was the year many of us took a look in the mirror and asked, what do we really need.

Reader dbvanhorn put it very well: “…there’s so much crap we’re told we can’t live without, until we do.”

At the other end of the spectrum are the intangibles. Those things we give up that have nothing to do with the stuff we … Continue Reading

Yesterday, I met my first prospective tenant. I’m making a big change in living arrangements in order to avoid making other changes – like selling my house.

So I’m giving up my privacy. My sense of self-containment. My freedom to act, behave and express in any way I want at any time of day or night — well, within the limits my family will accept. It’s certainly not as big a change as others have had to make, and it’s probably radical in the view of some others.

What adjustment … Continue Reading

Is there a future for affiliate marketing with advocates like Milton Cai?

Maybe I have something in common with the tabloid press ’cause here I am outing someone again.

Milton Cai is an affiliate marketer. And he’s so passionate about what he does he wants everyone else to share his love for affiliate marketing. He twitters about it all day long. That’s him and his tweet right below there.

I wrote about Milton and about his mentor Tissa Godavitarne in … Continue Reading

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you may know I’m Canadian. Don’t hold it against me. As it turns out, we may finally have something to be envied by others: our banks.

For as long as I can remember, Canadians have had a rep for being conservative and cautious, especially compared to our American neighbours. Sometimes it’s well deserved, sometimes not.

After all, could a country that’s given you a range of people like Mike Myers, Jim Carry, the creators of Cirque du Soleil, William Shatner, … Continue Reading

Mike Darnell, the sleazy chief of alternative programming at Fox

I was a little behind on this stomach-turning piece of entertainment news.

I first got wind of Fox’s upcoming new reality show, “Someone’s Gotta Go” via fellow blogger Tania Khadder at unemploymentality.com

If you’re behind too, here’s the scoop:

The Fox television network is currently in production of a new reality show called “Someone’s Gotta Go”. Each episode will feature a real company with about 15 or 20 employees who decide which one … Continue Reading

Another recession film is getting under way, this time on the east coast by a director who has won some of the film industry’s most respected awards. It will focus on how these extraordinary economic times are impacting families, and to that end, the filmmakers are reaching out to people in suburban or small town communities surrounding New York City.

That means communities that fall within a one to two-hour radius from the city in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey and, of course, in New York state. And they’re interested in talking to … Continue Reading

Yesterday’s post about tweets (messages on Twitter) that were less than kind to the laid off got a ton of traffic and comments.

Many were outraged at the insensitivity displayed in the messages. Others thought some messages were taken out of context and were likely intended as light-hearted humour.

I agree that humour is often used to deflect from an uncomfortable or distressing situation. And I agree that commenting about lighter traffic during rush hour and having pizza for breakfast can well fall into these. But when you’re complaining about laid off people annoying you at work or you’re spouting off on … Continue Reading

I’ve often been critical of companies or public figures here on Fired For Now for their behaviour or practices in the context of the recession.

This post is different. Below are real comments made on Twitter — or tweets — by ordinary people. I am blown away by the judgment, lack of sensitivity and sheer ignorance these comments show.  It’s one thing for those making multi-million dollar bonuses to be removed from reality, but when it’s taking place at the cubicle right next to you?

You all go up on my wall of shame.

[p.s. If you happen to be one of these … Continue Reading

Lululemon is pop culture’s answer to wearable spirituality. You don’t have to be spiritual. You don’t even have to do yoga. Pull on a $200+ Lululemon yoga outfit and voila – you’re surrounded by an aura of faux enlightenment that Lululemon parades on its shopping bags with its “manifesto” which is really just a random collection of sayings like:

“The pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness.”

“That which matters most should never give way to that which matters least.”

Or this rather strangely-worded one:

“Children are the orgasm of life. Just like … Continue Reading

About three weeks ago I wrote a post about Google’s $6.3 million payout in bonuses to their senior management team. At that time I took some major heat for putting them on my wall of shame – not here, but on Open Salon where I also occasionally post.

Many felt that my outrage was unwarranted given the success of Google. The majority felt that since Google has been so successful as a company – and certainly in no need of government assistance – the bonuses were fair and reasonable.

But something’s … Continue Reading